Re: philip a. allen, gov. ri...
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In reply to:
philip a. allen, gov. ri...
charlene heeter 9/29/03
Zachariah Allen, the son of Zachariah and Anne Allen, was born in Providence on September 15, 1795. He was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire and graduated from Brown University in 1813. By 1815, Allen was practicing law in Rhode Island, and in 1817 he married Eliza Harriet Arnold.
Law was an unsatisfying career choice for Allen, and in 1822 he invested in a woolen factory and became interested in the textile industry. He established the Allendale Mills and the Georgiaville Mills, later to become the Bernon Manufacturing Company. Allen was a manufacturer, but he was also interested in the technology of the textile industry and refined power looms and cloth finishing machines, invented high speed shafting with loose belts and also developed a cutoff valve for steam engines. He worked on fire-proof constructions for his factories and in 1835 he founded Manufacturers' Mutual, a factory insurance company which helped other factory owners develop methods to prevent fires and other disasters in their factories.
Allen was also actively involved in the social and political concerns of Providence. He was a member of the Town Council in Providence, he helped introduce fire engines to Providence and organized a committee to establish a free library and natural history museum. He was also active in the development of Roger Williams Park.
Allen went bankrupt in 1857, but continued working in manufacturing by managing the Georgia Mills that his brother bought and by helping his son-in-law, William Ely with the Allendale Mills, which Ely had purchased.
Allen died in 1882.
://www.americashistoricplaces.com/historyrhodeisland/AllenvilleMill.htm
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Re: philip a. allen, gov. ri...
charlene heeter 12/02/03
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Re: philip a. allen, gov. ri...
Flo Legge 12/03/03
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Re: philip a. allen, gov. ri...